


Shiver and Burn

by evisionarts



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Elemental Magic, Flash Freeze Fic Challenge, Inception - Freeform, M/M, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-16 04:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5813257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evisionarts/pseuds/evisionarts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur’s lithe body is encased in a skin tight sheath so  deep and dark the feeble rays of a winter sun only give a hint of the coiled  strength lying beneath the deceptive armor. His blue-black hair falls to his  shoulders in controlled waves and a wire thin circlet of black ice sits upon  his brow. His hands are stark and white while his nails are painted charcoal  and his fingers move restlessly as he sketches figures into the air.</p>
<p>“Eames.” Author’s words echo against the crystals of  frozen water that surround him. “Eames.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shiver and Burn

Arthur slinks through a shifting wall of snow and the delicate flakes cling to him like a lover. The ice beneath his feet catches at his bare soles and cradles his heels so he remains poised and balanced. His cold heart beats with the rhythm of the storm. 

Arthur’s lithe body is encased in a skin tight sheath so deep and dark the feeble rays of a winter sun only give a hint of the coiled strength lying beneath the deceptive armor. His blue-black hair falls to his shoulders in controlled waves and a wire thin circlet of black ice sits upon his brow. His hands are stark and white while his nails are painted charcoal and his fingers move restlessly as he sketches figures into the air.

“Eames.” Author’s words echo against the crystals of frozen water that surround him. “Eames.”

The air shivers and the ground shakes and the sky rumbles as if the universe were arguing about whether to heed Arthur’s call or refuse to allow it out in the open. Arthur’s lips thin and he digs his toes harder into the snow and draws strength from the frost which coats and caresses his smooth skin.

“Eames.” Arthur frowns but his voice rings out pure and clear with an underlying tone of exasperation.

“Really darling the whole dimension can hear you.” Eames surfaces slowly appearing out of a fiery wave of gaudy flashes of gold and red and orange. The storm dances and whirls around him but he stands in a pocket of sultry air untouched by the cold. “You’re so contrary pet. Weren’t you the one who insisted we be discreet?”

Eames’ chest is bare and the lines etched into his flesh shift and move and are never still. The ground hisses where his feet touch and he walks in a cloud of glittering steam. His trousers are bright pink wreathed in a design of purple paisley. The band encircling his forehead sputters and sparks like a fluorescent light that refuses to die.

Arthur huffs, crossing his arms and turning his back because he knows Eames admires the view. He can’t help but lean into the warmth that curls itself around his icy body and he tilts his head.

“Careful darling.” Eames nips at a soft unsullied ear lobe and purrs hot breath across the sharp edge of Arthur’s cheek. “We don’t want to disturb the king’s slumber.”

Arthur snorts. “Cobb hasn’t paid attention to anything but his dreams in an age. He’s not the one we have to fear.”

Arthur shivers, feeling the cold for the first time since he last allowed Eames to touch him and reluctantly steps away from the circle of his arms. He turns and grimaces at the bright red flush of burned skin upon Eames’ broad shoulders.

Eames sighs. “Don’t look at me that way pet you know we haven’t been close long enough to suffer any permanent damage.”

“Maybe not but we’ve already overstayed our welcome even in this in-between space. If Cobb is oblivious Saito and his lap dogs are not so blind as to dismiss the disturbance caused by two elementals never meant to touch.” Arthur’s eyes are soft and dark and uncertain and Eames is shaken by the fact he has never known the Winter Dreamer to exhibit anything but harsh arrogance and grim confidence. He wonders if his own gaze reflects an uneasy light.

“I don’t regret my choice.” Eames produces a golden coin from between his finger tips and flings it into the air between them then slaps it onto the back of his hand. “Heads or tails darling?”

Arthur’s eyes flash and he holds tight to his smile but his dimples finally give him away. “We both know your totem shows whatever you want it to Eames.” He holds out a pair of dice that tumble and turn until they settle on snake eyes and lay still in his palm. “As does mine.”

Eames drops his coin between the dice and folds his hand over Arthur’s. “That’s true enough here love but what happens in this new world you have found for us?”

“I don’t know” Arthur admits as the ice burrows into his skin and Eames’ fingers burn red and raw. “We may exist there only for a moment or live together in eternity. The only thing I know for sure is that we won’t be constrained by what we are here.”

“It’s only a game love.” Eames lips are blistering and Arthur’s are tinged with blue. “Shall we bet a moment together against an eternity apart?”

“Yes.” Arthur smiles in the last second before he freezes solid and Eames throws his head back and laughs as he bursts into flame.

~~~

They awake in a filthy alley that borders a bustling street filled with the strange sound of lumbering engines and the stench of sweaty bodies hurrying home in the summer twilight. They are naked and new and whole and they cling to each other amid the murmur of tired voices that snake down the passage. Eames eyes are wide as he settles his feet against the ground and he ignores the ache of all that he’s lost in favor of settling his mouth against Arthur’s and touching his tongue to another for the first time. 

They part to gasp a breath and Eames smirks as he strokes his way down Arthur’s back and settles his grasp around Arthur’s ass. “Darling! You’ve landed us next to a rubbish heap!” Eames sounds delighted at this fact.

Arthur frowns fiercely but his eyes are bright as he pinches the nipples on Eames chest and huffs in triumph when he elicits a pleased gasp. He winks and  strides down the alley way to where it opens on the street and grabs the sleeves of two men in suits as they stride by with their gazes lost to the screens of their phones and their ears shrouded by the noise coming out of the wires they’ve stuffed in them. The crowd pays no attention as they are pulled from the flow of pedestrian traffic and flung so violently against the side of a building that they slide to their knees unconscious. 

“Oh love you remembered!” Eames is gleeful as he pulls the pink shirt from one of the men and lovingly slips loose the knot of a paisley tie.

Arthur rolls his eyes as he slides into a sleek black suit that molds itself to his body until it appears to be a second skin. He does not forget the shoulder holster and he shivers as he allows Eames to straighten his lapels and slides home the gun. 

“What do you think Eames?” Arthur lifts the collar of the hideous shirt and knots the odious tie and stands back and knows he has never seen anything more deceptive or deadly or beautiful. “Are we ready to take on a new world?”

Eames smiles like a shark. “Dream a little bigger darling.” He feels the heat building beneath his skin again as it learns how to be something different, a brilliant thing that knows how to bind itself to a creature of ice without shattering it. “The question my love is whether the new world is ready for us.”


End file.
